The Zimbabwean economy is projected to grow and benefit from a stable macroeconomic environment, favourable terms of trade and improved agricultural output. Agriculture output is projected to grow by 18.8% in 2010 compared to 14.9% in 2009. Also the output of tobacco, dairy, horticulture and maize production has expanded. The manufacturing sector is projected to grow by 4.5%; mining industry is projected to grow by 31%.

(Source: sadcbankers.org, page: 1)         

The country imports agricultural products (tobacco etc.), minerals (chrome, niobium, tantalum and barium), as well as asbestos and wood, etc.

(Source: laowee.com)

The country’s agriculture sector contributes 19% of GDP and industry sector contributes 24% of GDP.

(Source: state.gov)

GDP at current prices

(Source: IMF)

GDP at current prices is estimated at ZWD 5.57 billion in 201 compared with ZWD 4.62 billion in 2009 reflecting an increase of 20.56% over a year.

 

GDP growth rate

 

 

(Source: IMF)

The GDP growth rate in 2010 is estimated at 5.87% compared to 5.69% in 2009.

Gross national income (GNI)

 

(Source: UNDP, page: 4)

The gross national income (GNI) per capita at PPP was USD 176 in 2010 compared to USD 189 in 2005.

 

Income tax rate

Income (ZWD)	Tax Rate (%)
0 to 1,980	0
1,981 to 6,000	20
6,001 to 12,000	25
12,001 to 18,000	30
Above 18,001	35

(Source: taxrates.cc)

The income tax rates in Zimbabwe range from 20% to 35%.

Corporate tax rate

The corporate tax rate in Zimbabwe is 25%.

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Inflation rate

The inflation rate in Zimbabwe crossed the 100% mark in November 2001 and has since continued to increase. At the end of the year 2007, the inflation rate was recorded at 66,212% and at the end of July 2008 was 231,150,888%. The inflation rate then declined and was recorded at -7.7% at the end of 2009. The IMF estimates the inflation rate in 2010 at 9.07%.

(Source:rbz.co.zw, IMF)

FDI inflow

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow for the year 2009 was USD 60 million as compared to USD 52 million in 2008.

 

 

(Source: UNCTAD)

Central bank assets

The projected value of the central bank assets for the year 2010 is USD 167 million as compared to an estimated USD -479 million in 2009.

 

(Source: IMF, page: 22)

 

 

Labour force

The total labour force in Zimbabwe in 2009 was 5,028,052 people as compared to 4,938,102.10 in 2008.

(Source: worldbank.org)

Labour force participation rate

The labour force participation rate in 2009 was 67%. The labour force participation rate for 74% for males and 60% for females.

(Source: worldbank.org, worldbank.org, worldbank.org)

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate was 95% in 2009.

(Source: heritage.org)

Minimum wage

The minimum wage for a 19-year old worker or an apprentice is about USD 90 per month.

(Source: doingbusiness.org)

Level of unionisation

The major trade unions in Zimbabwe include:

• Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
• Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU)

(Source: ituc-csi.org)

Government Stability

Zimbabwe has a parliamentary system of government. The President is the head of state and also the head of government. The Prime Minister is the co-head of the government.

The parliament has legislative powers. The parliament is bicameral and is comprised of House of Assembly and the Senate. The House of Assembly has a statutory requirement of 214 members, of whom 210 are directly elected and four are ex-officio members. The Senate is comprised of 100 members, of whom 60 are directly elected, five are appointed by the president and the remaining 35 include 10 provincial governors; the President and Deputy President of Council of Chiefs; 16 traditional chiefs; and 7 additional members.

Some of the political parties in Zimbabwe are Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF); Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T); Movement for Democratic Change-Mutambara (MDC-M); Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU).

(Source: state.gov, IPU)

The last election presidential was held on June 27th, 2008.

 (Source: electionguide.com)

Regulatory environment

(Source: heritage.org)

In the 2011 Economic Freedom Index Zimbabwe's score was 22.1, leaving the economy 178^th in the global table. The country is ranked last out of 46 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and is the second least free country in the 2011 Index.

 

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Zimbabwe is ranked 134^th with a score of 2.4 which indicates that the corruption levels in public departments is fairly high.

(Source: transparency.org)

Freedom of information

In 2010, Zimbabwe ranked 123^rd on the Press Freedom Index with a score of 39.50.

The only TV and radio stations in the country are operated by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).

(Source: rsf.org, BBC)

Newspapers

Major newspapers in Zimbabwe include -

• The Herald
• The Chronicle
• NewsDay
• The Financial Gazette
• The Standard
• Zimbabwe Independent
• The Zimbabwean

(Source: BBC)

Judicial system

The Ministry of Justice supervises the legal system in the country. The judicial system includes a Supreme Court, High Court and  magistrates' courts.

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body. The High Court includes general and appellate divisions. There are regional magistrate's courts with jurisdiction in civil cases and magistrate's courts with jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases.

(Source: Ministry of Justice)

 

Population

The population of Zimbabwe was 12.6 million in 2010 compared to 11.73 million in 2009.

(Source: undp.org, page: 196, IMF)

51.7% of the total population in mid-year 2009 were female.

Gender balance

In 2010 the gender ratio was 101 males per 100 females.

(Source: undp.org, page: 196)

Population age structure

In 2009, 39.9% of the population was in the age group of 0-14 years. The population above 60 years included 6.4% women and 5.1% men in the same period.

(Source: data.un.org)

Median age

The median age of the population increased from 16.8 years in 1990 to 19 years in 2010, primarily due to increasing life expectancy.

(Source: undp.org, page: 196)

Life expectancy

In Zimbabwe, life expectancy at birth for the year 2010 was registered at 47 years. In the period 2005-2010, the life expectancy at birth for males and females was 43.4 and 44.3, respectively.

(Source: undp.org, data.un.org)

Mortality rate

The mortality rate of infants was recorded at 62 per 1,000 live births during 2008.

(Source: undp.org, page: 209)

Death rate and birth rate

The crude death rate was 15% in 2009. The crude birth rate was 30% in 2009.

(Source: unicef.org)

Migration and urbanisation

The international migrant stock in mid-2010 included 372,300 individuals, which accounted for only 2.9% of the total population.

About 38.3% of the country’s population lived in urban areas in the year 2010. In the period 2005-2010, the urban and rural population grew at an annual average rate of 2.2% and 0.2%, respectively.

(Source: undp.org, page: 196, data.un.org)

Racial/ethnic environment

Ethnic groups in Zimbabwe include Shona, Ndebele, other African, white, mixed and Asian. Religions followed include Christianity, offshoot Christian sects, Islam and animist.

(Source: state.gov)

Human development index

Zimbabwe is ranked 169^th on the Human Development Index (HDI) 2010 conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

(Source: undp.org)

Literacy rate

The adult literacy rate was estimated at 92.6% in 2010.

(Source: UNDP)

Education

Education in the country is neither compulsory nor free. The education system consists of primary education, secondary education and adult & non-formal Education.

The student teacher ratio at the primary level is 39:1. The combined gross enrolment ratio for both sexes is 54.4%. The expenditure on education is about 4.6% of GDP.

(Source: Ministry of Education, UNDP, estandardsforum.org)

Health care

The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare is responsible for the health care sector in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s health system consists of four levels of health care:

Primary: Primary level includes health centres and community health workers. The Rural Health Centres (RHC) provide basic health care including preventive, curative and rehabilitative care.

Secondary: This includes district hospitals (secondary care facilities). There are hospitals in each district, serving a population of about 140,000 individuals. The district hospitals provide services such as referrals and support clinics and RHC in the district.

Tertiary and Quaternary: This includes hospitals at the provincial level and central hospitals. Central hospitals are located in Bulawayo, Chitungwiza and Harare.

In terms of health care resources, the country has about 20 physicians; 70 nurses and midwives; and 300 hospital beds per 100,000 individuals. About 39% of the population is undernourished.

Total health expenditure in 2007 was 4.1% of GDP.

(Source: Ministry of Health, estandardsforum.org, UNDP)

Public Transit

Public transport in Zimbabwe is mainly by road.

Roadways

There are roughly 97,267km of road in Zimbabwe, of which 19% are paved.

(Source: estandardsforum.org)

Railways

The rail network in the country is about 3,077 km. (Source: estandardsforum.org)

Ports

Major ports in Zimbabwe are Binga, Kariba, Chalala and Lake Kariba.

(Source: ports.com)

Airports

(Source: aircraft-charter-world)

Telecommunication

(Source: ITU)

The country had 385,116 fixed telephone line subscribers in 2009 as compared to 348,000 in 2008. The number of fixed line subscribers in 2009 was 3.08 per 100 inhabitants as compared to 2.79 per 100 inhabitants.

 

(Source: ITU)

There were 2,991,000 mobile cellular subscriptions in 2009, an increase of 80.76% over the previous year. The number of mobile subscribers in 2009 was 24 per 100 individuals.

As of June 2010, 12.2% of the population or 1,422,000 individuals used internet services.

(Source: internetworldstats.com)